America the Bilingual

Steve Leveen

America the Bilingual is a storytelling podcast designed to inspire people on their journey to bilingualism. We'll listen to people who have become bilingual, especially native-English speakers who learned another language as adults (that is, the hard way). How did they do it? Why did they do it? How do they lead their bilingual lives? You'll find out every two weeks.

  • 26 minutes 40 seconds
    74 - Season 6 - The unexpected truth about languages in America
    The United States leads the world in bilingualism. No kidding. Because of this, no country understands the world as well as the United States. Seriously. Ah, you may be thinking, there must be a catch. No catch—just a different way to understand the uncontested data that’s been accumulating for decades. So…how did we get here, and how might we use this newly unveiled status to the betterment of the country? In this episode, America the Bilingual founder Steve Leveen takes you through the history, context and science that have led him to this realization of America’s leadership role in bilingualism. Whether or not you’re bilingual, you’ll want to hear this good news for America. Thanks to our America the Bilingual team: Mim Harrison, editorial and brand director, and early advocate of quizzes as a way to enliven ideas; Fernando Hernandez Becerra, who produced this episode from his studio in Guadalajara, Mexico, Esto No Es Radio; Alli Torban, who designed the data visuals in the quiz; and Jen Cavagnaro at Daruma Tech, who manages our website. Music and sounds in order of appearance by: Monplaisir - Be a good punk https://bit.ly/3Xe2z4f Anthousai - 23cm glass bowl - tone - cloth mallet 02.wav https://bit.ly/3MsBh5d License: Creative Commons 0 Kevin Macleod - Quasi Motion https://bit.ly/KevinMacleod_QuasiMotion Monplaisir - Garage https://bit.ly/3XbPokd Stomachache - Take me Out to the Ball Game by stomachache -- https://bit.ly/3z65vb4 -- License: Creative Commons 0 Nikitralala - korea_baseball.flac by nikitralala -- https://bit.ly/3MuT23J -- License: Creative Commons 0 Tylermyers1992 - MLB Crowd Cheer - 09032022.wav https://bit.ly/3MsL3Ev -- License: Creative Commons 0 The United States Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps - United States National Anthem (The Star Spangled Banner) https://bit.ly/3Mx7RTi The United States Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps - Reveille Variation/Drum Call/Slow Scotch/Quick Scotch/Yankee Doodle/Mont.... https://bit.ly/3Tf4Qei Komiku - De l'herbe sous les pieds https://bit.ly/3z66eJk Komiku - In the restaurant https://bit.ly/3OfJTOs Komiku - Beach https://bit.ly/4e8qEjH Komiku - Where you hear the prayer (McGuffin theme) https://bit.ly/4g1ZyMS Komiku - Everything is groovy (how to move your body) https://bit.ly/3xejA4I Komiku - The road we use to travel when we were kids https://bit.ly/47fG2Zw
    4 September 2024, 11:00 am
  • 29 minutes 39 seconds
    73 - Season 6 - Global English: Blessing or Curse?
    While the whole world does not speak English, it’s nevertheless a ubiquitous language worldwide. Is that a good thing or bad? Or is it, perhaps, more complicated than that? Professor Rosemary Salomone, both linguist and lawyer, knows how to answer this question perhaps better than anyone. In this episode, she and Steve discuss her newest book, The Rise of English: Global Politics and the Power of Language, where she takes readers around the world to see just what kind of a global player English really is. Thanks to members of the America the Bilingual Project team for this episode: Mim Harrison, editorial and brand director of the America the Bilingual Project, who wrote and directed this episode; Fernando Hernández Becerra and his production house in Guadalajara, Mexico Esto No Es Radio, which provides sound design and mixing; and Jen Cavagnaro at Daruma Tech, who manages our website. Music Credits, in order of appearance Koi - discovery - beer blues https://bit.ly/3pIQxmi Kevin Macleod - Quasi motion https://bit.ly/KevinMacleod_QuasiMotion TRG Banks - evening journey https://bit.ly/4bzZZur Holizna cc0 - advertisements https://bit.ly/4eTrXEl Soft and furious - you’re magic https://bit.ly/3LjJYhq Soft and furious - game on https://bit.ly/3VUuRjz Koi Discovery - Spike protein https://bit.ly/3S1leya Wax liricyst - big green https://freemusicarchive.org/music/wax-lyricist/the-wax-lyricist/big-green/ He can jog - Prelude (Two Hour Delay, Dane County) https://bit.ly/3zBaq3G Soft and furious - When the blood driving the self https://bit.ly/4aaMt0H Maarten Schellekens - free classical theme https://bit.ly/4cXxSXj
    10 July 2024, 11:00 am
  • 23 minutes 32 seconds
    72 - Season 6 - Kim Potowski’s master class in heritage languages
    Hear why Kim Potowski, a professor of linguistics at the University of Illinois at Chicago, has a passion for preserving heritage languages, and how she teaches speakers of these languages. De-stigmatizing the way that a Spanish bilingual speaks his or her home language, in Kim’s view, “is a question of social justice.” Listen now to Episode 72 of America the Bilingual. MUSIC CREDITS Komiku - In the restaurant https://bit.ly/3OfJTOs Kevin Macleod - Quasi motion https://bit.ly/KevinMacleod_QuasiMotion Loyalty Freak Music - Waiting TTTT https://bit.ly/3HEwICx John Bartmann - Heart of acceptance https://bit.ly/JohnBartmann_Heartofacceptance Frederic Lardon feat. Laura Palmeé - Dans la piscine https://bit.ly/3xiKf0I Koi-discovery - Oxforf by night https://bit.ly/3xn39Ua
    12 June 2024, 11:00 am
  • 29 minutes 42 seconds
    71 - Season 5 - The Surprise in That Subway® Sandwich: Languages
    Want to know what really goes into that Subway® sandwich? Localization. Internationalization. And one more: transcreation. Hear how Subway’s Carrie Fischer is making languages part of Subway’s linguistic palate worldwide, in this new episode of the America the Bilingual podcast. This episode was written and directed by Mim Harrison, the editorial and brand director of the America the Bilingual project. It was sound designed, mixed and produced by Fernando Hernandez Becerra produced. Karla Hernandez at Daruma Tech manages our website. Music credits: Komiku - Hélice’s theme https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Komiku/Helice_Awesome_Dance_Adventure_/helices-theme/ Kevin Macleod - Quasi Motion https://bit.ly/KevinMacleod_QuasiMotion TRG Banks - City https://bit.ly/43pM2g4 Komiku - Everything is groovy (how to move your body) https://bit.ly/3xejA4I HoliznaCC0 - 20 Minute meditation 1 https://bit.ly/492XPlN TRG Banks - Horse ride 2 https://bit.ly/3LRPuZv Komiku - In the restaurant https://bit.ly/3OfJTOs Soft and the furious - Superconnected sleep https://bit.ly/3rN902r Wax Lyricist - A bad death https://bit.ly/3WbFwG7 Kai Engel - Holiday gift https://bit.ly/3TL05cX
    27 March 2024, 11:00 am
  • 27 minutes 1 second
    70 - Season 5 - A whisper to god
    The American journalist, linguist, and author Michael Erard (Babel No More) has lived in South America, Asia, and now in Europe. He’s always had an ear to the native languages as much as for them. A deep researcher of language, he shares in this episode why he believes that “human beings are meant to have very complex linguistic systems in their brains.” He also explains why he likens learning a language to weaving a rope. Thanks to members of the America the Bilingual Project team who worked on this episode: Fernando Hernández, writer for this episode, and his production house in Guadalajara, Mexico, Esto No Es Radio, which provides sound design and mixing; Mim Harrison, editorial and brand director of the America the Bilingual Project; and Karla Hernandez at Daruma Tech, who manages our website. Meet the entire America the Bilingual team—including our bark-lingual mascot, Chet—here. Music in this episode, in sequence: Demoiselle Döner, - Des têtes trop pleines https://bit.ly/421rrhp John Bartmann - African Moon https://bit.ly/47Avvqe Kevin Macleod - QuasiMotion https://bit.ly/KevinMacleod_QuasiMotion Loyalty Freak Music - Waiting TTTT https://bit.ly/3HEwICx TRG Banks - Michael Landon https://bit.ly/47ytYkp TRG Banks - Horse Ride 2 https://bit.ly/3LRPuZv Jorge Mario Zuleta - En Detención https://bit.ly/JMZ_detencion John Bartmann - Bouncy Gypsy Beats https://bit.ly/4aR7RZv
    17 January 2024, 11:00 am
  • 34 minutes 33 seconds
    69 - Season 5 - What is life when you leave the U.S. and become United Stateless?
    The 20th-century novelist Thomas Wolfe famously pronounced that “you can’t go home again.” But what if you have little choice? This is what a number of Latino immigrants, who have long made their home in the US, face when immigration laws require that they return to their country of birth. In this episode of the America the Bilingual podcast, Alexandra Rivera relays how an Uber driver in Mexico City startled her into realizing that these were important stories to be told. And even though she is a US citizen, she has faced her own challenges in balancing life in America as a Latina. She understands how important it is to find your place in wherever you may choose to—or have to—call home. Thanks to members of the America the Bilingual Project team who worked on this episode: Fernando Hernández, writer for this episode, and his Mexican production house in Guadalajara, Mexico, Esto No Es Radio, which provides sound design and mixing; Mim Harrison, editorial and brand director of the America the Bilingual Project, and Karla Hernandez at Daruma Tech, who manages our website.
    13 December 2023, 11:00 am
  • 23 minutes 40 seconds
    68 - Season 5 - Amy Chua, the Original Tiger Mom, Has Bilingual Stripes
    Join Steve for a lively, upbeat and often surprising conversation with first-generation Chinese American Amy Chua. A Yale law professor who gained fame as the Tiger Mom, she made sure that her children grew up as she did: bilingual. Listen as Amy describes three traits American immigrants share that help them excel. She also explains what the reviewers got wrong about her controversial bestseller “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother,” and explores how American bilingualism could bolster what Amy’s parents taught her was “just the greatest document in the world”: the American Constitution. Plus: why Amy’s newest book is nothing like her others. Join us now for this episode of America the Bilingual. Thanks to members of the America the Bilingual Project team for this episode: Fernando Hernández and his production house in Guadalajara, Mexico Esto No Es Radio, which provides sound design and mixing; Mim Harrison, editorial and brand director of the America the Bilingual Project who wrote and directed this episode; and Karla Hernandez at Daruma Tech, who manages our website. Music artists and selections, in order of listening: HoliznaCC0 - Dream pop https://bit.ly/3ZNXhx4 Loyalty Freak Music - Friend to friend https://bit.ly/3 iMYXWs Kevin Macleod - Quasi motion https://bit.ly/KevinMacleod_QuasiMotion Loyalty Freak Music - Shoepop https://bit.ly/3RMh9yM Pictures of the floating world - Nomadic https://bit.ly/3LVlpYV Loyalty Freak Music - One cool minute https://bit.ly/42WvMlk TRG Banks - Horse ride 2 https://bit.ly/3LRPuZv Soft and furious - Superconnected sleep https://bit.ly/3rN902r John Bartmann - Secret agent rock https://bit.ly/3ZMr0X8
    11 October 2023, 11:00 am
  • 29 minutes 16 seconds
    67 - Season 5 - Meet a Spanish Teacher in Maine Named Mohamed
    Call him señor Mo. That’s what Mohamed Kilani’s third-to-fifth grade students in Falmouth, Maine, call him. Mohamed is an Iraqi by birth, a Jordanian by virtue of war, and now an American by virtue of a selfless and brave mother. Listen to this Arab refugee’s odyssey of finding home and the many languages he speaks that have played a role. Among them: Spanish, which señor Mo delights in teaching his young Maine students. Thanks to members of the America the Bilingual Project team who worked on this episode: Fernando Hernández and his Mexican production house in Guadalajara, Mexico, Esto No Es Radio, which provides sound design and mixing; Mim Harrison, editorial and brand director of the America the Bilingual Project, who also wrote and directed this episode; and Karla Hernandez at Daruma Tech, who manages our website. Music in this episode, in order of appearance by John Bartmann - Somewhere nice https://bit.ly/3ZqUpGv Kevin MacLeod - Quasi motion https://bit.ly/KevinMacleod_QuasiMotion Monplaisir - 66666666 https://bit.ly/3Rt4dxM Kai Engel - Wake up https://bit.ly/45Xu9Wy Jason Shaw - River Meditation https://bit.ly/48iOY0f Kevin MacLeod - Back vibes clean https://bit.ly/3sYnYmD
    20 September 2023, 12:00 pm
  • 33 minutes 48 seconds
    66 - Season 5 - How Joe Keenan came to write a breakout book on learning Spanish
    As a native English speaker who became smitten with Spanish, the American journalist Joe Keenan decided that nobody else had written how to break out of beginniner’s Spanish, so he would have to do it himself. That’s just how he titled his first book, back in 1995. It became a bestseller, one that continues to sell more than 20 years later, and in an updated edition. In this exclusive interview, hear some of the author’s best tips for giving your Spanish a turbo boost, plus other tips that apply to learning any language. Along the way, learn some Mexican Spanish dichos, or sayings crafted from popular wisdom. You’ll get to know what false cognates are and how to avoid them on your own journey to intermediate and advanced levels of Spanish. Thanks to members of the America the Bilingual Project team for this episode: Fernando Hernández, who wrote and directed this episode, and his Mexican production house Esto No Es Radio, which provides sound design and mixing; Mim Harrison, editorial and brand director of the America the Bilingual Project; and Karla Hernandez at Daruma Tech, who manages our website. Music artists and selections, in order of listening: Loyalty Freak Music - One cool minute https://bit.ly/42WvMlk Kevin Macleod -Quasi motion https://bit.ly/KevinMacleod_QuasiMotion Koi Discovery - Beer blues https://bit.ly/3pIQxmi Komiku - In the restaurant https://bit.ly/3OfJTOs The new mystikal troubadours - NMT_the lonely hunter pt. 1_11.21.20 https://bit.ly/3pKr6AL Wax Lyricist - A bad death https://bit.ly/3WbFwG7 HoliznaCC0 - Endless Grind https://bit.ly/3MxdT7r Pictures of the floating world - Cycles https://bit.ly/41L8uxT
    17 May 2023, 11:00 am
  • 21 minutes 12 seconds
    65 - Season 5 - How Dario Wolos Turned a Taco into Tacombi
    Why are Tacombi restaurants winning hearts across the US as America’s taco sensation? And just what is a Tacombi, anyway? Mexican American founder Dario Wolos shows how being not just bilingual but bicultural is turning Tacombi into a beloved brand that crosses borders. Hear his story, and the story behind the name, in Episode 65 of America the Bilingual. Thanks to members of the America the Bilingual Project team for this episode: Fernando Hernández and his Mexican production house Esto No Es Radio, which provides sound design and mixing; Mim Harrison, editorial and brand director of the America the Bilingual Project, who wrote and directed this episode; and Karla Hernandez at Daruma Tech, who manages our website. Music artists and selections, in order of listening: Broke for free - Something Elated https://bit.ly/41CWMGp Kevin Macleod - Quasi motion https://bit.ly/KevinMacleod_QuasiMotion Monplaisir - Brotherhood https://bit.ly/446bo2O Juanitos - Funkula https://bit.ly/3Vd2koI John Bartmann - Umlungu https://bit.ly/3oGV5Jr Closing track: Broke for free - Something Elated https://bit.ly/41CWMGp
    26 April 2023, 11:00 am
  • 31 minutes 40 seconds
    64 - Season 5 - A global audio storyteller: the journey of Martina Castro
    Martina Castro, the award-winning production impresario behind Duolingual’s popular multilingual podcasts and NPR’s Radio Ambulante, has become a major force in audio storytelling. Hear this Uruguayan American recount her own story of being bilingual in America, in Episode 64 of the America the Bilingual podcast, “ A Global Audio Storyteller: The Journey of Martina Castro.” You can read about other inspiring American bilinguals in the book “America’s Bilingual Century.” Details are on the Book page of americathebilingual.com Thanks to members of the America the Bilingual Project team for this episode: Mim Harrison, editorial director of the Project; Karla Hernandez at Daruma Tech, who manages our website; and Fernando Hernández, who wrote, mixed, and sound designed this episode. Music credits: HoliznaCC0 - Ugly Truth https://freemusicarchive.org/music/holiznacc0/left-overs/ugly-truth/ Kevin Macleod - Quasi motion https://bit.ly/KevinMacleod_QuasiMotion HoliznaCC0 - 20 minute meditation1 https://freemusicarchive.org/music/holiznacc0/space-sleep-meditation/20-minute-meditation-1/ HoliznaCC0 - Sky scrapers https://freemusicarchive.org/music/holiznacc0/city-slacker/sky-scrapers/ Wax Lyricist - the brass brigade https://freemusicarchive.org/music/wax-lyricist/the-wax-lyricist/the-brass-brigade/ HoliznahCC0 - Endless grind https://freemusicarchive.org/music/holiznacc0/city-slacker/endless-grind/
    29 March 2023, 11:00 am
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